


Falconry: Sharp-Set

by BetaCobra



Series: Falconry [6]
Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hanukkah, Insecurity, M/M, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaCobra/pseuds/BetaCobra
Summary: “I was also thinking I’d get you a little gift. Y’know, a belated Hanukkah present. Sorry for not getting anything on time. In my defense, we didn’t exactly have a lot of time to shop while getting ready for the state championship.”“I told you, you didn’t have to worry about it, man,” Hawk reminded him.Miguel gave him a pleading look. “I know, but let me do something nice, okay, dude? It’s the first time I’ve been with anyone during the holidays."AU canon-divergent from Season 2. A Falconry-verse one-shot.
Relationships: Carmen Diaz/Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Series: Falconry [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691446
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65





	Falconry: Sharp-Set

There came a knock at the door, and Carmen’s smile lit up when Johnny greeted her with a kiss when she opened it. “Come in,” she told him, stepping aside for her guest to enter the apartment. “Miguel’s still getting ready, but we should be good to go soon.”

“Sounds great,” replied Johnny, walking with her into the dining area.

“Can you tell me, does Robby wear the same shirt size as Miguel, a medium?” asked Carmen, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Johnny stuck his hands in his pockets and thought for a second, knitting his brows together at the bridge of his nose. He looked almost embarrassed. “Pretty sure, yeah. Last I checked.” He pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and said, “I could send a text message to him and ask. He finally roped me into doing that more often."

“That’s good,” Carmen said, giving him an encouraging smile. “I only wanted to be sure. I’d like to get him something while we’re at the mall, if he wouldn’t mind.” Inviting Robby to several dinners at the apartment had helped ease some of the jealousy she had detected building in Miguel while Johnny had been making more of a conscious effort to spend time with his son. And as things continued to progress between her and Johnny, she wanted to remind Robby he had no reason to view her as any sort of threat.

The furrow smoothed out of Johnny’s brow, and a small smile turned the corners of his mouth. “Nah, I don’t think he’d mind. I mean, he better not.”

“Maybe you can help me pick out a shirt you know he’d like,” suggested Carmen. Johnny nodded at that suggestion. And with that out of the way, Carmen looked down at the kitchen table, at the leftover plates from breakfast that still needed cleaning. “Help yourself to a donut, if you’re hungry,” she offered, gesturing to a box sitting there before picking up the plates. “Hawk brought these over last night from his parents.”

Johnny stuck his hand in the box and pulled out one of the jelly donuts. Turning it over, his mouth went tight for a moment before he tossed it back in the box. “These things’ll make your gut hang out,” he said dismissively, wiping the powder from his fingers on his jeans. He then took the plates out of Carmen’s hands, with a look that said he’d take care of it.

“ _Who cares about any of that?_ ” rebutted Rosa, rolling her eyes while she passed by and grabbed the donut he’d declined for herself. “ _It’s the holidays. And when you get to my age, who gives a shit anyway?_ ”

“Okay, I understood the word ‘shit’ there,” Johnny called out to Rosa as she made her way back to the couch to resume her soaps. Meanwhile, he took the dishes over to the sink.

Pointing to the refrigerator, Carmen said, “In the fridge, there’s also a plate of….” She snapped her fingers, trying to remember the word Hawk had used for them. Her cheeks warmed when it didn’t spring to mind. “I forget what they were called. They’re made from potatoes.”

“Latkes?” suggested Johnny, joining her back at the table.

Carmen arched her eyebrows, surprised he knew what she’d been referring to. She didn’t hold Johnny’s pedestrian tastes against him, and he’d shown willingness to go out of his comfort zone from time to time, but because of that _she_ was usually the one who had to observe his unfamiliarity with certain foods “That was it, latkes, right."

“ _They don’t heat up good in the microwave, you’d have to re-fry them_ ,” said her mother from the living room.

Still somewhat shocked Johnny would be familiar with a dish like that, a memory sprung to Carmen’s mind that helped explain it. “Your stepfather was Jewish, you mentioned this once, right?” she asked, picking her cellphone up from the table.

Johnny nodded. His expression had gotten taut again. “Sid, yeah.”

Carmen had no desire to step into a messy subject, so she veered it to the point she’d been trying to make when bringing it up. “Did you celebrate Hanukkah, too?”

“Not really. Me and my mom didn’t convert and Sid wasn’t exactly the observant type anyway,” said Johnny, leaning against the counter, crossing his arms. “But he’d bring back latkes and donuts from his Studio around this time each year, probably from a party or something.”

He looked at her and Carmen took that as a cue that enough had been said about the topic. “I see.” There was still a lot she had to learn about Johnny Lawrence but she knew a boundary when she saw one. He’d been good about respecting hers as well. About certain things that happened in Ecuador. About her ex-husband.

“But enough about that guy,” Johnny declared, standing back up straight before walking over to her. A grin replaced his previous guarded frown. “What are _you_ planning for the holidays? You guys got a tree? You want me to go get you one?”

“We have a small one. We put it up on Christmas Eve and put it away after Epiphany,” A saucy smile brightening up Carmen’s face, she reached out and tugged at his open flannel. “This year, you’ll have to try my Rosca de Reyes. You’ll just have to deal with your gut hanging out afterward.”

Johnny chuckled. “I don’t know what that is,” he admitted, wrapping his hands over her hips, “but if you’re making it, I know it’ll be worth it.”

Perhaps she would be able to convince Johnny into coming over and making them with her. She could entertain him with the stories about how her mother had taught her how to bake them when she was a little girl herself, cementing the sweet as a staple of the holiday to her. In the meantime, Carmen pulled Johnny in for a kiss, giving him something else sweet, instead.

They were interrupted and broke apart when Miguel stepped out of the hallway and into the kitchen. “Hey, Sensei,” he greeted, jutting his chin out to his karate teacher. “Ready to leave whenever you guys are.”

* * *

When last Miguel last checked his phone, Hawk had texted him back saying he was on his way to the mall, since his therapy session had concluded. In the meantime, after shooting Hawk another text about where he would be able to find him once he got there, he stepped into the Nike store to browse the sneaker selection.

He grazed his fingers over one of the pairs on display, black with yellow trimming. Picking it up to examine the stitching closer, Miguel’s mind immediately thought of a dozen outfits from his closet a pair like this would match perfectly with. Plus they just plain looked cool.

Glancing at the price tag on the sole made him cringe, however. If he had the budget, Miguel would have gladly admitted to himself that he’d be _that guy_ with a pair of cool sneakers for every occasion. He already kept the couple of expensive pairs he did own in as pristine condition as he was able to, laid out in their boxes while not in use, wiping the dirt off the white sides on the regular. He tried taking care of nice things when he got them.

Miguel ran his fingers over the yellow trimming again and sighed. _Oh well_ , he thought to himself. It was the holiday season, he needed to use his money to buy gifts for other people. Perhaps the shoes would go on sale in a couple months. Buying on sale was where it was at anyway.

An arm suddenly wrapping around his shoulders jerked him from those thoughts, and he looked beside him to see Hawk’s grinning face. “Sup,” the other boy greeted. Then, glancing at the sneaker in Miguel’s hand, he said, “Whoa, nice find. You got an eye for matching the Cobra Kai colors.”

“Second only to you,” teased Miguel, tugging on the drawstrings of Hawk’s red hoodie as he returned the shoe to its previous display shelf.

“Didn’t you want them?” asked Hawk, arching an inquisitive eyebrow. “They’d go great with, like, half the clothes in your closest.”

His question warmed Miguel’s cheeks. Not wanting to explain his aversion to paying full-price even for nice shoes, he patted Hawk’s back and said, “Maybe later. I was just doing a little looking around. Can’t spend anything on myself right now, y’know, with it being the holidays and all. I actually need to head over to Macy’s and find something for Ya-Ya. Plus, Mom and Sensei said I gotta avoid them for a couple of hours while they shop.”

Hawk’s eyes squinted in confusion. “Sensei and your mom are out here, too? I thought we were just gonna hang.”

“That was the original plan,” said Miguel, “but since Mom doesn’t go back to work until Thursday, she wanted to get some holiday shopping done before it gets completely insane out here.” He started leading the two of them out of the Nike store, towards the entrance. “I was also thinking I’d get you a little gift. Y’know, a belated Hanukkah present. Sorry for not getting anything on time. In my defense, we didn’t exactly have a lot of time to shop while getting ready for the state championship.”

“I told you, you didn’t have to worry about it, man,” Hawk reminded him.

Miguel gave him a pleading look. “I know, but let me do something nice, okay, dude? It’s the first time I’ve been with anyone during the holidays. And I enjoyed it when you invited me over the first night. And Ya-Ya’s been tearing into those leftover donuts you brought, just so you know.”

Letting out a breathy laugh, Hawk said, “Then we’re pretty good, I’d say. Just bring me over some Christmas cake or something, maybe some eggnog, and we’ll call it even. That’s usually what Demetri and me did. You don’t have to spend any money on me this holiday, it’s not Jewish Christmas.”

Miguel snorted and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I know Hanukkah’s not the same thing as Christmas but you said your parents still get you gifts. That means I can too, right?”

Hawk shrugged but he couldn’t keep the smile from returning to his face. Miguel wondered how often he’d gotten any Hanukkah gifts from people outside of his family. “Alright, sure. But I mean, if we’re gonna do the gift-giving thing, then that means I’m getting you something, too. Sucks that you’ll have to wait until Christmas to open it though, huh?”

“Hey, Ya-Ya might actually make me be good and wait all the way until Three Kings’ Day, since she and Mom are leaning into getting Sensei more involved this year,” chuckled Miguel. Shoving Hawk’s shoulder, he then told him, “Now get lost so I can find you a gift. Give me about an hour, I’ll meet up with you at the food court later."

* * *

Johnny’s eyes scanned up and down the rings. The store employees had offered him help twice already, and despite telling them both times he was only looking around, the truth was he didn’t want to admit he was out of his element. He hadn’t thought about buying a babe something this nice since that time he almost got that gold necklace for Ali in high school.

He didn’t understand things like karats and gemstones or any of that chick stuff. Or why some cuts were so much more expensive than others.

He knew he could probably find something at Lyle’s Pawnshop, but what sort of asshole would second-hand shop for something like that there? Besides, he’d been saving up for months for this, no going cheap now. Carmen deserved much better than that. Hell, she deserved better than what he had now.

“Sensei?”

Johnny lifted his head up from scoping the glass case to see Hawk standing a couple feet away at the entrance of the store, orange bag in his hand and blue eyes wide.

The kid must have assessed the situation fast and put two and two together, judging by the crooked smile running up the side of his face and the way his brows practically touched his forehead. “No way, are you gonna put a ring on it? That’s ballin’! Does Miguel know?”

Spotting the stares of the employees as they and the surrounding customers turned their attention on them, Johnny quickly grabbed Hawk’s arm and led them outside. “No, he doesn’t know because I haven’t decided on anything yet.” Rubbing his knuckles in agitation he muttered mostly to himself, “Not even sure _if_ anything’s gonna happen.”

Furrowing his brows, Hawk pointed out, “C’mon, Sensei, you’re the one who told us about going all-in.”

It wasn’t like he disagreed with the kid. The alpha male in him wanted to go all-in, alright. He’d buy a ring, take Carmen to a fancy dinner and propose to her right there. But if there was one thing the past year had taught Johnny, it was that the world had changed a lot around him. And sometimes he had to take things slower than he otherwise would have wanted.

“You just mind your business and keep your mouth shut about this. If I hear you blabbing about what you saw to Carmen or Miguel, you’ll be cleaning the dojo’s toilet every day after practice for the next three months,” declared Johnny, slipping into Sensei Mode. Then, remembering the kid was liable to take him completely serious, to show he was half-joking he threw in, “Better yet, you’ll be cleaning it with your tongue. Understand?”

Hawk tried to mask a chuckle under his breath, but he nodded. “Yes, Sensei.”

The last thing Johnny needed was Hawk running his mouth to Miguel and getting him excited for something he wasn’t even sure was ready to happen. A little over five months wasn’t enough time to start thinking about this, was it? Sure, he loved Carmen more than he’d ever be able to tell her, but this was a big step. And what if she said no? Should he talk about it first with her? That was how guys did it in modern times, right? They weren’t supposed to just spring that sort of thing anymore, were they?

Johnny sighed, irritated at his own indecisiveness. And Hawk was still standing there like he expected him to go back inside the jewelry store and pick a ring out with him simply watching the whole time. The kid never did know how to read a room. Still, no need to be hard on him for walking into this.

Sticking his hands into his pockets, Johnny said, “So, uh, I didn’t get a chance to ask during the state championship, since I was busy showing everyone in Sacramento how badass Cobra Kai can be and all, but did you still have a good Hanukkah while we were out there?”

Hawk’s eyebrows raised on his forehead again. He looked surprised by the question. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was fine.”

Johnny nodded once, shifting on his feet. “Good.” Not wanting to stand there in awkward silence with him, he went on. “Alright, I need to grab some other things while I’m out here.” He still needed to get Miguel a present or two. In his bag, there were already a couple new t-shirts he’d found for Robby while helping Carmen shop for him, something skater-related he hoped his son wouldn’t think was lame. But once he and Carmen had split up, he’d been walking around largely blind.

It had been a while since he’d hung out at the mall for any considerable length of time. He didn’t want to just come out and confess he barely knew his way around the place anymore. So he tried playing it cool. “I think I got an idea,” he said, eyeing Hawk. “So where’s the Record Town located now?”

Hawk stared at him with a blank look on his face. “Record what?”

* * *

Miguel creased his brows in deep thought as he rode up the escalator, tapping his fingers on the hand rail, racking his brain to come up with an idea but coming up short. All he could do was sigh and frown while he stepped off at the top and checked his watch. He would need to meet up with Hawk pretty soon. And he had nothing to show him.

A voice called out, “Miggy!”

He turned to see his mother walking out of the JCPenny. “Hey, Mom.” She had several bags in her hands, so her trip out there must have been pretty successful. “Got any presents for me?” he joked.

“Don’t peak,” warned Carmen. “Yes, I got a couple things for you in there.” She switched the bags to her other hand when Miguel playfully tried poking his finger into a bag and reaching for a look anyway. Wrapping her now-free hand around his shoulders, she asked, “How’s your shopping been going?”

Miguel held up his own bags as an answer. “Not too bad. I got you and Ya-Ya mostly taken care of. I also found this really cool Dee Snider shirt I know Sensei’s gonna go crazy for. What’d you decide on getting him? No, wait! I probably don’t want to know, do I?” He cringed at the hole he dug himself into with where his brain went there, and he shuddered. He blamed his Ya-Ya. She’d been the one constantly teasing that his Sensei needed to make an honest woman of his mom. And, well, he wasn’t a little kid, he knew what that meant.

“Miguel, _compórtate_!” his mother mildly reprimanded, and he felt her playfully smack his shoulder. All he could do was shrug in apology. It wasn’t like he’d wanted his mind to go there. “I got him a nice watch,” she assured him.

“Okay, good. Yeah, he’ll like that for sure,” said Miguel, letting out a breath, glad to clear that image out of his head.

“I’m hoping he will,” agreed Carmen. “And what did you get for Hawk?”

Twisting his mouth in irritation at his indecisiveness, Miguel confessed, “Actually, that’s the thing, I’m having trouble deciding what to get him.” He felt extra dumb since he’d been the one to insist on the gift-giving in the first place, all without having any actual plans for what he’d get. That wasn’t thinking things through. He should’ve known by now to always think before striking.

“Why the trouble?” asked his mother.

Miguel shrugged his shoulders again. “It’s like, what do you get a guy whose parents pretty much get him whatever he needs?” He didn’t think it would be this difficult. And the truth was, he was probably just overthinking things. But he wanted it to be special. It was okay to overthink special things, right?

Carmen hugged his shoulders tight with her arm. “I’m sure he’ll like whatever you choose.”

Rolling his eyes, Miguel said, “Thanks but that’s a total mom answer and doesn’t really help me with my problem.”

“Maybe so,” his mother conceded, retaining her smile. “How about this then: don’t think about what he _needs_. After all, _you_ need new socks but are you going to be excited when your Ya-Ya gives them to you on Three Kings’ Day?”

“Not really,” confessed Miguel, grinning. He hadn’t appreciated it as a kid, and at seventeen he still wasn’t enthusiastic to receive the annual gift of socks. At least that was never _all_ what Ya-Ya gave him for the holidays. Even when times were really bad, she always found something fun to stick in his stocking that he’d actually enjoy.

Carmen raised her eyebrows and gave him a knowing look. “That’s what I thought. So why don’t you instead think of something he’d just enjoy? How would you put it? How about giving him an experience? It’s the memories you make around these times you’ll remember later, not the gifts themselves.”

What she said was true. Sure, he remembered a few gifts from various Christmases and Epiphanies growing up that he looked back fondly on: a baseball glove one year, soccer cleats another, and he’d never forget the year his mom and Ya-Ya both pooled in their money to get him his bike. But yeah, his mom was right, he realized. Those things were great, but the things he remembered most was the excitement of experiencing them.

A lightbulb went off in his head as an idea suddenly sprang to mind. And from there Miguel pieced a plan together. _Yeah, that could work_ , he thought to himself.

He would need to go find Sensei first, though.

* * *

Miguel found Hawk lounging at a table at the food court, browsing his cellphone, when he finally arrived. “There you are,” observed Hawk, sitting up straight and slipping his phone in his back pocket. “You said an hour.”

Giving a shrug, Miguel sat in the chair across from him, setting his bags down on the table. “I know, sorry. It took me a bit longer than I thought.” He grabbed the smallest bag, pulled out a little rectangular box, and handed it to Hawk. “Happy Hanukkah. I mean, belated Hanukkah.”

“An Applebee’s gift card?” asked Hawk after he pulled the card in question out of its box, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Miguel wondered if Hawk believed he was playing a joke on him. Well, he wouldn’t be entirely off base for thinking it.

Miguel gave up hiding his cheesy grin, instead letting it spread ear-to-ear across his face as he explained further, “That’s just dinner for us next January, on me.”

“Oh, so you’re paying for a date, I get it,” laughed Hawk, sticking the gift card into his wallet. “Wait, why are we waiting till January, though? I mean, I don’t gotta wait till Three Kings’ Day either, do I?”

“No,” Miguel chuckled, “it’s just gonna take a couple weeks to get the other part of your gift. Sensei’s got a connection and he’s gonna hook me up with a couple tickets to the Alice Cooper concert next month.”

“For real?” asked Hawk, his smile spreading farther up his face. He reached across the table and playfully slapped Miguel on the shoulder in his enthusiasm. “That’s awesome!”

He had a feeling Hawk would enjoy that. And he himself had worked himself into an excitement thinking about it. Sensei had taken him to a rock concert a couple months before and it was one of the most fun times he’d spent in his life. The loud music, the pure energy coming from the crowd as they all got into it, Miguel couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so hyped. He couldn’t wait to take Hawk to one.

Miguel boasted, “How’s _that_ for a date?”

“You know how to treat a guy, for sure,” replied Hawk with a wink. “Now it’s your turn.” He reached into the empty chair beside him and lifted a green-and-red box, which he slid over to Miguel on the table. “Happy Christmas, man. I even took it to the customer service area to have it wrapped for you. Not like I got Christmas paper just laying around at home, y’know?”

“Heh, right.” Taking the box in his hands, Miguel felt the telltale edges at the top that told him what kind of box it could be. He had a pretty good guess as to what the contents inside were, and when he brought it up to his ear to hear it shuffle, it only confirmed to him he’d soon have something to match with a lot of his outfits in his closet.

It made his insides jump in boyish happiness, thinking about when he’d finally be able to open it and enjoy his gift. “Thanks,” he said, looking fondly back up at Hawk. Judging by that smirk, he guessed Hawk knew he’d already figured out what he’d gotten him. Placing his gift into one of his other bags, Miguel stood up and asked, “So, you up for some lunch now that we’re here?"

Hawk nodded, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. “Yeah, let’s grab some Panda Express. I’m always craving Chinese food around this time of the year.”


End file.
